Surveys Show South Korea Ahead of Japan and US in Bitcoin Awareness

Recent public surveys in Korea, Japan, and the US reveal different levels of bitcoin awareness and adoption in the three top bitcoin markets. The country with the strongest awareness has the fewest bitcoin exchanges and least volume of the three.

90% Know of Bitcoin

Mobile phone survey specialist Dooit released the results of its “Perception and Prospects for Bitcoin” survey taken in South Korea this week, local publications reported. The survey was conducted between December 1 and 4, with 3018 participants aged 20 or older. The sampling error range was ± 1.78% percentage points, giving it a 95% confidence level, according to the company.

Regarding respondents’ familiarity with bitcoin, 44.1% of those surveyed said, “I have heard the name.”35.1% said “I know [it]” and 10.8% answered, “I know [it] well.” Meanwhile, 10% replied, “I do not know [it] at all.” Altogether, the number of respondents who have heard of bitcoin amounts to 90%.

In terms of demographics, bitcoin is most popular among respondents in their 30s. 29.8% of this age group admitted to having purchased the digital currency. By comparison, 26.3% in their 40s, 22.4% in their 20s, and 23% in their 50s claim to have experience in purchasing bitcoin.

South Korea is one of the largest cryptocurrency markets. The Korean won is currently the third most traded currency for bitcoin, behind only Japan and the U.S. The country’s largest bitcoin exchange Bithumb currently has the highest bitcoin trading volume out of all exchanges worldwide.

Bitcoin trading volume in the country has fully surpassed that of Kosdaq, the Korean version of the Nasdaq stock exchange. This revelation has prompted the regulators in the country to hurry to regulate the crypto market. In addition, the country’s most popular chat app, Kakao Talk, has recently integrated a cryptocurrency exchange called Upbit with over 110 cryptocurrencies. Kakao Talk has over 200 million users and is installed on over 95% of smartphones in South Korea.

8% Know What a Blockchain Is

While most of the survey respondents know what bitcoin is, few of them have heard of blockchains. Only 8% claim to know both what a blockchain is and understand its relationship with bitcoin.

The majority of the respondents, 49.7%, admitted that “I do not know what it means at all” when asked about the term blockchain.

Some of them were able to make guesses regarding the technology. 18.5% think that both bitcoin and blockchains “are virtual currency” while 6.7% believe that a blockchain is “the product derived from bitcoin.” Lastly, 5.1% wrongfully guessed that an exchange trading bitcoin is a blockchain.

Reasons for Purchasing Bitcoin

Out of all respondents, 26.1% said that they have purchased bitcoin. This percentage corresponds to 787 people. Respondents who have not purchased it shared various reasons on the company’s website. “Bitcoin, it’s dangerous,” wrote one participant. Another participant shared:

It’s not dangerous, it’s just expensive, so I do not buy it.

Among those who have purchased, 5.8% said that they currently own bitcoin while 20.3% said that they do not.

Also within this group of respondents, 48.3% purchased bitcoin because they are simply curious about digital currencies. A further 23.3% said they purchased it for short-term profit while 15.6% indicated it was for long-term investment. Meanwhile, 12.8% of them purchased bitcoin at the recommendation of others.

Compared to Japan

Japan is currently the leader in the cryptocurrency market, with the Japanese yen occupying the largest bitcoin trading market share. The country also made bitcoin a legal method of payment for all goods and services back in April. Since then, bitcoin adoption and merchant adoption there have grown significantly. Recently, news.Bitcoin.com reported on a Japanese survey of 10,000 respondents. 88% of them know what bitcoin is but only 4.7% have purchased it.

Among Japanese bitcoin purchasers, 42% said they purchased because they were interested in digital currencies; the same percentage expect it to grow in the future. 33% bought bitcoin because they believe it to be profitable. 54% purchased it as a long-term investment and 42% as a short-term investment. See full survey results here.

Compared to the US

The U.S. dollar is currently the second largest bitcoin market behind the Japanese yen. On Monday, crypto PR firm Ditto published a cryptocurrency public knowledge report. The firm conducted a survey in the first week of November with 500 respondents over 18 across the U.S.

They found almost 70% of respondents are unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies and almost 90% do now know what an initial coin offering (ICO) is. The most informed segment is the millennials with 1 in 5 of them familiar with bitcoin.

What do you think of these surveys? Let us know in the comments section below.